POT: No, for many reasons

Legalize marijuana? Not a chance!

And for me the issue is as much personal as it is academic.

Some years ago one of my family members got hooked on pot when he was in high school. The change in his attitude and behavior was slow, insidious, and ultimately all-consuming. Within a few months he became almost completely amotivational, interested only in sleeping, eating and smoking pot. NOTHING else mattered. His grades in school tanked, he couldn’t keep a part-time job doing anything, his good friends abandoned him, and the conflict within our family escalated to almost the breaking point.

Long story short: It took more than a year to pull him out of it, with all of us doing everything possible, including even moving to another town. Today he is totally clean, a model citizen with a wife and kids, and a good job.

I believe legalizing marijuana, as they have done in Colorado and Washington, is short-sighted and irresponsible. Don’t we have enough amotivational people to deal with as it is? And does it make any sense to put extra effort into helping our society go to … well, pot?

As for someone’s freedom to do as they please, freedom doesn’t work without responsibility … responsibility for ourselves and for those around us.

DAVE EUBANKS

Trustee, Coeur d’Alene School Board